Analysis of the changes of land use/cover and landscape pattern in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River

Combined the integrated technology of ecological quantity analytical method with GIS techology through Arc Info, Arc View and Fragstats, the changes of land use/cover and landscape pattern had been analyzed in this paper in the upper reaches of Yangtze River, using the land use data of 1980, 1990 and 2000. The results show that the areas of grassland and farmland obviously decrease, while the areas of forest land and construction land increase, and the areas of water and unused land keep stable. The major patterns of land use change are the conversions of forest to grassland and farmland, farmland to construction land and grassland, and grassland to unused land. The analysis on the index of patch show that the value of the fragmentation and isolation of water areas, construction land and unused land are bigger than other landscape types. Under the adjustment of macro policies and intensive human activities, the fragmentation and isolation of farmland, forest and grass decreased gradually and then increase. The analysis on index of landscape show that the landscape is becoming more fragmental, and the diversification and evenness of landscape pattern are more obvious. The eco-environment in the study area is very vulnerable to the land use change, resulting in distinct landscape effects, such as loss of water and soil, land desertification, nature disaster and environmental quality declining. The mode of land use should be adjusted in landscape scale to rehabilitate and reconstruct the landscape ecosystems in the upper reaches of Yangtze River.